Dog Movie Review: When it comes to films revolving around humans' relationship with dogs, there is potential there for it to have a great amount of emotional charge. Dog here is exactly that. It’s an emotionally charged story between a man and a dog. Mix it in with elements of a road trip film, and what you have on your hands is a film that’s extremely heartwarming, even if it runs into the occasional clichés that loom over the genre. The Batman Movie Review: Matt Reeves & Robert Pattinson Deliver the Definitive Version of DC’s Dark Knight! (LatestLY Exclusive).

Dog sees Channing Tatum play the role of Army Ranger Jackson Briggs. Briggs, who wants to get back out on the field, makes a deal that if he transports the dog Lulu to her army handlers funeral, he will get the job. What follows is the development of friendship between Lulu and Briggs that ends up being the heart and soul of the film.

The relationship between Briggs and Lulu is explored so well over here. Both Briggs and her have history from the army, and that is felt in every scene. Thanks to Tatum’s acting here, you really get the emotional depth between these characters. For most of the film, Tatum has to act around a dog, where he keeps on talking to her, but doesn’t really get a reply, cause well, he's talking to a dog. It’s in that moment that Tatum really shines.

He also gets a good amount of scenes with other characters that come off really heartwarming, and in many instances funny too. One scene in particular has him going into a farmhouse and bonding with the people staying in there. That particular part of the movie was one of the huge standouts, and really did a great job at fleshing the characters out.

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The side characters have a great amount of history and depth to them too. Like mentioned above, of course you have the people at the farm, but you come across another ranger too in the film. Every character is diverse in nature and has this nice piece of history to them where it creates some very interesting scenarios.

Lulu is also one of the best dog actors I have seen in a while. She is a good girl through and throughout and also has a really interesting arc in the film. When you see her for the first time, she is this very aggressive animal that isn’t friendly at all, but through the film starts getting more and more calm, and that was explored extremely well. All of this mixes into creating one of the most emotionally charged scenes in the movie where you won’t be able to hold back your tears.

With this focusing on people in the army, it doesn’t stop itself from exploring some very complex themes too. The effects a war has on a human are explored, and it never really goes overboard in its portrayal of it. It just has the right amount of social commentary where it adds a nice amount of depth to the film.

Tatum also directs the movie alongside Reid Carolin. The duo do a great job at bringing out the best among everyone. Not only that, but the framing and the way some scenes are shot are so wonderfully done.

Although while Dog does do many things right, it eventually fumbles up in its ending. After a certain point, you know where the film is going, but the way it executes it just doesn’t stick. Rather it ends on a very abrupt note.

The best way to describe the ending is that the filmmakers didn’t exactly know how to wrap up the movie, so they just rushed it out and hoped for the best. I would have liked it if the last few minutes of the film were more spread out.

Dog also runs into the usual clichés of a road trip movie. Like the car breaking down at a really important point in the film, and then not having a sense of what to do. It didn’t really affect my viewing that much, but had to be pointed out. The Boys Presents Diabolical Series Review: Seth Rogen, Eric Kripke Infuse Craziness of Original Series Into This Amazing Animated Anthology! (LatestLY Exclusive).

Yay!

Channing Tatum

Dynamic Between Briggs and Lulu

Nay!

Ending

Clichés

Final Thoughts

Dog is a heartwarming adventure that will have you smiling in so many scenes, but packs a great amount of emotional punch too. While clichés and a rushed ending bog it down, it’s still a film that any dog lover will be satisfied with. Dog releases in theatres on March 11, 2022.

Rating:3.5

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 10, 2022 07:30 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).